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Thread: OverkillRC's: The Phoenix

OverkillRC brings to you the ultimate LCC Shafty specific comp chassis. This is chassis system has many unique features that will bring that belly dragging Losi into the air that only MOA's have breathed before-

The Chassis:Made out of laser cut 1/8" delrin, these plates are designed with strength, adjustability, and clearance in mind. This chassis is capable of pushing your shafts to 4.75" of clearance (although COG and shaft life suffers with anything over 4"s of clearance)

The Topper:Oh yea, it has the bodiless option built in

LCG Dig Servo Mount:When pushing that belly to insane heights we couldn't cut costs so designed and include a LCG dig mount for increased stability and a lowed cog

The Shark Fin:Gives more than an extra inch of vertical link separation in the rear that allows for high clearance links and plnety of adjustment for many ride heights

An Overkill Skid:is just 2" wide and built out of super slick delrin with A2 Tool steel captured rods to hold your lower links in place. Its allso pre-drilled for tranny placment

(The CAD model doesn't show it, but there will be coutersunk holes for the tranny)

USRCCA legal

Here is a teaser vid made awhile back...the topper shown is NOT the topper included

alright, did a teardown of my prototype chassis. chassis itself, with dig servo mount and all hardware weighs in at 3.5 oz. sadly i don't have a stocker handy to throw on the scale.

on a non tech note....i don't know how many people cruise my thread on a regular basis, but its been quite the evolution to the production phoenix.

first off was the cdw chassis that established the shark fin concept. these were the days before i joined up with losikid. it was a lot of trial and error with limited actual info, i wasn't keeping track of anything really, shoot from the hip.

then came the v1 phoenix and becoming a member of Team Overkill. i started taking part development seriously. from then on, the advancement of the phoenix chassis system became a full time job for me. 12-14 hour days of testing and fab work, and reporting results to losikid. the v1's humble handmade beginnings brought me to many conclusions on design practice and while in the end it was successful as a chassis, the tuning options were limited.

next was the failed v2. the losi shock arms transferred to much force to the chassis during falls, but where it failed as a working model, it succeeded in teaching me more about how delrin reacts in a fall. this information was completely priceless when drawing out the v3 phoenix. it also established that the 3/8" drop front to rear was superior to the 1/2" drop on the v1

the v3 started out different to the production models. i took lightweight too far. i slimmed everything down too much, and this is where teaming up with losikid really defined the production phoenix chassis. he was instrumental in the development in so many ways its hard to count. first was strengthening the plates to the point that they can be beaten on very hard. second, he took the reigns on production, i was considering a vendor's star, but health problems for me popped up, and he took the paper and pencil drawings that i sent to him and refined and reshaped the production models so elegantly....safe to say, the phoenix wouldn't even be possible without him at the helm. he also has full credit for the awesome topper design, i personally really like it and will be running it in competition this summer if nsca goes to sioux falls again, or i'll head up and comp with mnrcrc.

this has been a long run. we've spent nights bouncing ideas off of each other and we've had differences in opinion. the kid is a saint really, and i'd like to thank him publicly for making my dream possible.

and to tortured (not letting me edit posts for some reason) i'll have a delrin link tutorial up when they head out. along with the insert tech and general chassis tuning. the only bent links on my truck are the rear lowers, everything else is straight. building links is more difficult with some materials such as titanium and stainless, but with delrin its not bad at all, just a matter of having and making the right tools. jeepindoug makes/made a delrin link drill bushing, i made my own in about 5 minutes with my drill press. just clamp everything down tight and drill one hole, then the other without moving the workpiece. simple and works great. use the bushing to drill the hole with a hand drill, then swap the bit out to the tap you're using, turn the clutch down low, ease in, then back the tap out. insert either a long setscrew or threaded stud and then thread the rod end to the stud. done. with solid rod links, pick your rod so the die will thread on, then just thread the die on the correct way (taper first) then flip it to finish the thread. and we're done there.

yes, the lnc driveshafts do not have enough range of movement. i'm also looking at the axial wb8 driveshafts to see if they'd be a decent substitute to the lcc ones, just waiting for a good enough deal.

depends on the esc really, i could run my mmp on the rear upper links if i had to, the fronts end up with less space due to the dig servo. electronics mounting is where it's going to get tricky for most guys, i started with my front axle plate and rear tounge, it worked well enough.just kinda sitting and looking at it, rx on the side of the trans, battery on the front links and esc on the rear uppers....not ideal, but the best you can really do without a front axle plate. also keep in mind it was built to run one, i never intended to put electronics in the chassis. and as far as batteries on the links, this is a comp rig, there isn't much room at all in the front (at least the way i built mine) so a smaller size battery is a mandate.

basically to put it short and simple, mounting electronics is going to be a pain if you think of it as an lcc still. this is a phoenix, there is no other rig quite like it. link mounting is not the way it was designed to work, its designed to run electronics on the axles, this was an accident and a blessing, once you run a front plate, you'll never go back. losikid has a simple version in his thread, and i have my built to the hilt version in my thread. this is not a bolt on and power up kit. this does take more work for the builder than the lcc chassis does. bred for competition and born in a farmer's shed, this has taken ingenuity for me to get to the point where i have it.

depends on the esc really, i could run my mmp on the rear upper links if i had to, the fronts end up with less space due to the dig servo. electronics mounting is where it's going to get tricky for most guys, i started with my front axle plate and rear tounge, it worked well enough.just kinda sitting and looking at it, rx on the side of the trans, battery on the front links and esc on the rear uppers....not ideal, but the best you can really do without a front axle plate. also keep in mind it was built to run one, i never intended to put electronics in the chassis. and as far as batteries on the links, this is a comp rig, there isn't much room at all in the front (at least the way i built mine) so a smaller size battery is a mandate.

basically to put it short and simple, mounting electronics is going to be a pain if you think of it as an lcc still. this is a phoenix, there is no other rig quite like it. link mounting is not the way it was designed to work, its designed to run electronics on the axles, this was an accident and a blessing, once you run a front plate, you'll never go back. losikid has a simple version in his thread, and i have my built to the hilt version in my thread. this is not a bolt on and power up kit. this does take more work for the builder than the lcc chassis does. bred for competition and born in a farmer's shed, this has taken ingenuity for me to get to the point where i have it.

It my be possible to run on links, but i'd recommend doing a thing like cdw's between the link's plate that mount to the axle. Thats what i'm running. but a front axle tray is really a great idea to get lcg low, otherwise you'll have to put a battery or electronics on the rear links or axle.

I'm working on getting these made as well, but i can't figure out the best way todo this so its strong and durable for the customer, but also cheap and light.

the outdrive cups won't allow enough movement. between the lack of vertical travel they have and the lack of slip joint travel, its just not going to happen. after i hit 3 solid inches of clearance with the stock chassis, there was no room left for travel, in fact the shafts started tearing themselves to pieces.